


Watch How I Soar

by EHyde, hanyounomiko



Series: Red Sky at Morning [1]
Category: Akatsuki no Yona | Yona of the Dawn
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen, Kidfic, young leaves in the wind
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-23
Updated: 2015-06-04
Packaged: 2018-03-31 19:32:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 15,455
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3990052
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EHyde/pseuds/EHyde, https://archiveofourown.org/users/hanyounomiko/pseuds/hanyounomiko
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Yona is kidnapped as a child, Hak and Soo-won fail to rescue her in time. But on a ship bound for the Kai Empire, she's saved by none other than Captain Gi-gan's pirates—including a fifteen-year-old Green Dragon.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

“Kid, you’ve been on this ship how long now?”

“Almost two years, Captain!”

“How about you prove your worth, for once? Go find out what’s on that ship.” And Jae-ha, torn between _I’ve proved my worth plenty of times_ and _I’m part of the boarding party? For real?_ had simply nodded and leapt into the sky. “Don’t do anything too stupid!” Gi-gan’s voice trailed after him.

_Finally,_ he thought. It wasn’t that the captain never let him fight; she was smart enough not to waste his abilities _that_ much. When the fighting came to their ship, everyone had to hold their own. And of course, Jae-ha’s unique skills allowed him to take out enemy lookouts before they knew what hit them. But when it came to actually boarding enemy ships, it was always “Kid, you’d just be in the way,” and “I can’t trust my men to babysit and fight at the same time.” But there was something different about tonight, something special about that ship. Maybe the captain felt it, too.

This ship had appeared on the horizon without warning just before dusk, making its way from one of the port towns—Awa, probably. It was a strange time for anyone to set out to sea, and that alone was suspicious enough. But that ominous feeling as it approached …

It had been dark for over an hour as the mysterious ship neared the cove where the pirates lay in wait, and they clearly had no idea they were sailing towards danger. Jae-ha landed in the crow’s nest and took out the lookout first, of course, then scanned the deck below. It was fairly empty; he’d definitely be able to make it into the hold unseen. _These guys look way too rough for this to be a legitimate merchant ship._ Were they slavers? Or simply smugglers? But that ominous presence only grew as he leapt down to the deck, and he was pretty sure he knew the answer.

However, he wasn’t prepared for the sight that met him in the hold. _We’ve done this before. We’ve rescued prisoners from slavers many times._ But he’d never been here, never seen the row of children, none of them older than ten, chained to the hull of the ship, that lifeless look in their eyes. _Tied, just tied. There are no chains._ As if that made things any better. And that dangerous presence—it was here, too. But … there were no guards in here, not for helpless children. So what …? As he scanned the hold, his eyes fell upon the second child from the end, a little girl no more than six years old, eyes as lifeless as the rest. She had bright red hair.

_**Warriors of the four dragons!**_   Jae-ha felt the blood pounding through his leg. _What is—? **You are now our other halves. You will serve Hiryuu as your master, protecting him with your lives. You will love him, and never betray him.**_ Oh, no. _Hell,_ no. The dragon blood wanted him to serve someone on _this_ ship? Someone who would do this to a bunch of kids? His knife already out, he cut the red-haired girl’s bonds and lifted her into his arms. If the dragon blood wanted him to serve a slaver— _of course it does, it wants to make a slave of me, doesn't it?_ —he’d defy it to the end. “We’re going to rescue _everyone,_ ok?” he said, looking back at the other kids. Then he raced back out of the hold, leaping into the sky the moment he reached the deck. The girl let out a shriek, but then seemed to calm down on her own as she gripped him tightly. She even went so far as to gaze around in wonder as they soared through the night sky.

“Jae-ha, your report?” Captain Gi-gan asked as soon as he landed. Then she noticed the girl in his arms. “Boy, I thought I said not to do anything stupid.”

“They’re slavers, Captain, the hold was full of children.” Gi-gan’s eyes softened. “And … I think there’s someone really dangerous on board.”

“Take the girl below, to my cabin,” said Gi-gan.

“Yes, ma’am! Then I’ll go get the others!”

“No.”

Jae-ha frowned. “But—”

“You’ve alerted them to our presence, even if you did take care of the lookout. You did get that right, didn’t you?” Jae-ha nodded. “It’s too dangerous to go back alone. But when we take the ship, rescuing the prisoners and bringing them back here will be your task. Understood?”

“Yes, ma’am!”

 

The slavers’ ship fell quickly, and the other children were rescued without incident. With the slavers safely tied up below deck, and the children huddled in the crew’s quarters, Jae-ha made his way back to the captain’s cabin for that first girl. He found her sitting quietly on the floor, her arms wrapped around her knees, but her eyes lit up when she saw him. _Good. No little girl should have that lifeless look in her eyes._ “Hey there,” he said. “We won. We beat the bad men, and rescued all your friends. Shall I take you to them?” The girl frowned. “Not your friends? You don’t know them?” She shook her head. That was odd; the other children all seemed to be from the same small village, one whose name Jae-ha hadn’t recognized but a fellow pirate had been familiar with. Jae-ha sat down next to the girl. “I won’t take you anywhere you don’t want to go. No one’s ever going to do that to you again.” She nodded and unclasped her hands, reaching out to take his. _It feels like she’s holding on for dear life._ But she was safe now, he didn’t need to worry about her like this. “My name’s Jae-ha,” he said. “Do you want to tell me your name?”

“... I’m Yona.”

_That’s good, she’s talking._ “Yona, I need to go help my crewmates, but I’ll come back to check on you. All right?”

 

“That girl is still in my cabin.” The wounded were taken care of, the mess of battle squared away, and the ship was well on its way back to Awa, where they would dump the prisoners and try to reunite the stolen children with their families.

“She didn’t want to leave,” said Jae-ha.

“Uh-huh,” said the captain.

“I told her no one would make her go anywhere she didn’t want to go, so …”

Gi-gan rolled her eyes. “Of course you did,” she said. Then, “She’s asking for you.”

“Then, is it okay if I—”

“Hold it.” Gi-gan placed a hand firmly on Jae-ha’s shoulder. “What you said earlier, about someone really dangerous. There was no one like that. Are you going to tell me what that was about?”

When the captain asked like that, he really didn’t have a choice, now did he? “I’ve told you where my power comes from,” he began.

“Far too often,” the captain agreed.

“And that there’s some master I’m supposed to be destined to serve. On that ship, I thought I felt—no, I didn’t just think, I _definitely_ felt the presence of someone my blood wanted me to serve.”

Gi-gan raised an eyebrow. “The red dragon, King Hiryuu, a slaver?”

Jae-ha stood straighter. “I’ll never serve someone like that!”

“Jae-ha. When that red-haired girl asked for you, it wasn’t by name. She asked for the green dragon.”

“What? But I didn’t tell …” _She saw me fly, but_ … realization hit. “You think _she’s_ —but she’s a girl!” The captain gave him a long, flat stare. “I mean she’s like five,” Jae-ha hastily amended.

“I don’t know what this girl is or isn’t,” Gi-gan said. “But I saw how much you cared about protecting her before. If she’s what you’ve been running from, will that change?” Resolutely, Jae-ha shook his head. Yona was a scared, lost little girl. The idea of her being Hiryuu was ridiculous, but if she was … _well, she can hardly help it, at her age_. “Then go ahead. Go see her.”

 

Jae-ha tapped at the door before entering. “Yona, I’m back.”

“Jae-ha!” The girl rushed to meet him, wrapping her arms around his waist. Fortunately, the cabin was small enough she couldn’t build up much momentum. “You came back!”

“I said I would, didn’t I?”

“Uh-huh.” Yona lowered her voice. “Is that scary lady your mom?” she asked in a mock whisper.

Jae-ha laughed. “No, she’s the captain,” he said. “You know what that means?”

“She’s … in charge of a lot of soldiers?”

“She’s in charge of everyone on the ship. She’s the one who rescued you, really.”

Yona frowned. “You rescued me.”

Well, Jae-ha couldn’t exactly deny that. He lowered his voice, too. “You think she’s scary?”

“Good scary,” said Yona, nodding. “Like Uncle Yu-hon. Not bad scary, like …” She didn’t finish. _Like the men who kidnapped her._ Yu-hon, that name was very familiar—where did he know it from? Eh, that wasn’t important now.

“Yona, do you think you can fall asleep? This is the captain’s room, but I’m sure she won’t mind if you use her bed.” Actually, Gi-gan probably would mind, but she wouldn’t take it out on Yona, anyway.

“Will you stay?”

“Sure. And tomorrow, we can take you home, okay?” Suddenly, Yona’s expression darkened. “You … don’t want to go home?” If that was the case, he’d … Gi-gan would never let such a small girl stay aboard their ship, so they’d have to …

“I … I wasn’t supposed to go out,” she said.

“Hey, the first time I ran away, I was about your age.”

“I didn’t run away! I just wanted … my friends wanted to show me the city, but I wasn’t supposed to go out.”

Okay, that was better. For a moment he’d been worried that, if she was really was Hiryuu— _and I still don’t know that, do I?_ —that she’d needed to escape her village just as much as he had. _That’d sure be a twist on what they told me, wouldn’t it?_ But she was just a little girl who’d broken a rule and was worried about being punished for it. “What city?” Jae-ha asked.

The girl sniffed. “Kuuto,” she said. The capital? _That’s a long way for slavers to bring just one girl, isn’t it?_

“All right,” said Jae-ha. “Don’t worry about if you’d get in trouble. Do you want to be back home with your family?” Slowly, Yona nodded. “Then I’ll make sure you get there safely. It’s a long way away, so you should get plenty of sleep.” He picked her up and set her on the captain’s bed. “Goodnight, Yona.”

“Jae-ha … are you really the green dragon?”

Jae-ha tensed. Here it was. “I’ll tell you if you tell me,” he said, much more lightly than he felt.

“If I tell you what?”

“Are you the red dragon? Are you Hiryuu?”

Yona giggled. “Silly, Hiryuu was a really long time ago! He was the first king. I told you, I’m _Yona_.”

“Right …” _There, she told me she’s not. Now no matter what the dragon blood says, I can_ … what a cop-out. “What makes you think I’m the green dragon?”

“Well, you can fly and you have green hair,” said Yona, matter-of-factly. Fair enough. “And I had a feeling about it.”

His own heart rate picked up in response to that. _It’s definitely her_. “Yeah, I’m the green dragon.”

Yona’s eyes widened. “That’s so _cool_ ,” she said. “Is one of your legs a dragon’s leg? Can I see it?”

“You should go to sleep.”

“ _Please?_ ” She hopped out of the bed and started tugging at his boot.

“It’s the other leg. Why do you want to see it?”

“It’s … how you rescued me, right?” _Oh_.

“Get back in bed. If I show you, will you go to sleep?” Yona nodded and climbed back into the bed, legs dangling over the side. “It’s not very pretty, though.” She just shrugged, and Jae-ha began to unlace his boot. _Why am I doing this?_ Even though the other pirates all seemed to think his abilities were cool (which, obviously, they were), it wasn’t like he ever paraded his weird-looking foot around. _This is just to shut her up_.

“Wow, it’s really got scales …”

Jae-ha rolled his eyes. “Yes, it has scales.”

“It looks like a lizard foot.”

“It does not!”

“Does too!”

“Fine.” Jae-ha stuck out his tongue. “I rescued you with an ugly lizard foot.” He began lacing his boot back up.

“I never said _ugly_.” Which … that was true. She hadn’t.

“Go to sleep.”

“Will you tell me a story?”

“No! You said you’d go to sleep!”

“But you’ll stay here, right?”

“I’ll stay here till you fall asleep, and I’ll be close by all night. We’re on a ship, there’s only so far I can go.”

“You could fly away.”

“I won’t, though. I’ll stay with you till you’re safe at home.” Yona nodded and, finally, closed her eyes. Despite all her energy just moments ago, she fell asleep almost instantly.

 

The captain was waiting outside. “You put her to sleep in my bed, didn’t you?” Jae-ha gave a slight nod. “How is she?”

“Hyper! Are all kids like that?"

“I shudder to imagine you at that age,” said Gi-gan, but she was smiling. “Considering what she’s been through, hyper is good.”

“She’s from the capital, or near there,” said Jae-ha.

“Chi’shin? That’s quite a trip.”

“No, Kuuto.”

“Oh, really.”

“That’s what she said …” Even the Earth tribe’s capital would be a long journey, but Kuuto … “I told her we’d get her home to her family, though.”

“Of course we will. I’m sure we can find some merchants heading that direction who’d be willing to take her.”

“No!” Jae-ha surprised himself with the vehemence of his protest. “I mean … I don’t want to just hand her over to strangers. If I carried her, I’m sure it wouldn’t take that long …”

“You don’t want to get her off your hands as soon as possible?” asked Gi-gan. “I thought you wanted nothing to do with the legendary master you’re destined to protect.”

“Come on, I’m not going to abandon a little girl just to spite destiny.” Besides, he wasn’t taking care of her because it was his destiny, it was because … well … “She’s been through a lot. She doesn’t need to be handed off to even _more_ strange people.”

“Somehow, I don’t think she’d find anyone more strange than you.” The captain stepped towards the door of her cabin.

“Ah, Captain?”

“What? You’re not about to tell me I’ve been kicked out of my cabin, are you? I can sleep on the floor tonight; I won’t wake her.”

“… right.” Dammit, he _did_ care too much about this girl. _And Captain Gi-gan knows it. She’s laughing at me, isn’t she?_ Oh right, there was that other thing Yona had said. “Hey, does the name Yu-hon sound familiar to you?”

“The king’s brother?”

Oh. Oh, _shit_. “Uh.”

“What about him?”

“Yona … mentioned an Uncle Yu-hon.”

Gi-gan paused. “The king only has the one brother.”

“Maybe it’s someone else with the same name?” But that was just wishful thinking on Jae-ha’s part; she was from Kuuto, and furthermore, she was— _I won’t serve the king! I won’t be some royal attendant!_

“What did the girl say about him?”

“… that you were scary like Uncle Yu-hon.”

“Hah!” That, at least, seemed to put a grin on Gi-gan’s face. “You’ll set out tomorrow. Take Princess Yona back to the palace yourself, as quickly as you can. You’re right, we shouldn’t bring anyone else into this.”

 

They were back at Awa before dawn and, though he’d had time, Jae-ha had barely managed to get any sleep himself. _So she’s the princess._ The king didn’t have any sons, right? So while she wouldn’t inherit the throne herself, she still would … _It was supposed to be a king. I shouldn’t be too surprised._ But here he had been thinking that taking care of a cute little girl wouldn’t be so bad, and it turned out to be exactly what he’d feared all along. _I_ have _protected her. I rescued her from slavers, and I’ll take her home, and then I’ll come back here. I don’t owe her any more than that._ It wasn’t like a girl that age had any business commanding warriors, anyway. _And the dragon blood doesn’t say I have to do anything for her father._

“Jae-ha.” The captain was already awake too, of course. “The rest of the crew can deal with the slavers and the other children. You should head out with the … with Yona as soon as possible.” She didn’t use the word “princess” in front of the crew, he noticed.

“Did she sleep?”

Gi-gan nodded. “She asked for you as soon as she woke up. Go fetch some porridge for her, then come to my cabin.”

“Yes, ma’am.” When he returned to the captain’s cabin, Yona was wearing a new dress, and the captain was pushing a small chest back underneath her bed. Why did Gi-gan have a chest of girls’ clothing? Well, nevermind that. The blue dress Yona now wore was a little big for her, and made of rougher fabric than what she’d been wearing before, but it was clean and fresh. She looked like a normal little girl, not like a victim of human trafficking. _And she’s actually a princess_. “Good morning, Yona, I brought you breakfast!”

“Now then,” said Gi-gan. “After you eat, Jae-ha will take you home. Yona … is your father the king?” Yona glanced up at Jae-ha, who gave a slight nod. _It’s okay, you can trust her._

“Uh-huh.”

“Well then, he’s probably very worried about you, so you need to go home as quickly as possible, which is why Jae-ha will take you.”

“We’re going to fly?”

“I can’t jump that far all at once,” said Jae-ha. “And I’ll get tired faster, carrying you, so we’ll probably end up walking some of the way, too. But yes, we’re going to fly.”

The captain pressed heavy purse into Jae-ha’s hands. “Stay at good inns and make sure she eats well.”

“You’re generous today, Captain.”

“She’s the king’s daughter, boy. If anything happens to her, it’s not going to be on _my_ watch.” Right.

“Well then, Princess Yona,” said Jae-ha. “Shall we go?”


	2. Chapter 2

“Jae-ha, how much longer is it?” And here he’d thought she was enjoying flying. Even after he’d explained that what he did was really just jumping, and that when he was carrying her he couldn’t even jump as far as normal, the princess had still seemed really excited. But here it was, not even noon yet, and she was already asking if they were there yet.

“Tired of me already?”

“No … I’m just …”

_You’re just anxious to get home after having been kidnapped by slave traders_. “How long have you been gone?”

“Um … more than a week …”

He didn’t blame her for losing count. “It’s hard to keep track of time when you’re tied up like that.” When there was nothing to distinguish between one day and the next, when— “It’s okay.”

“Father will be really worried …”

_He’s probably mobilized the entire army to find her. What’s left of it._ “I think it’ll take us three days,” said Jae-ha. That was if they kept up their current pace. “Today, and then two more. Tonight we’ll stay in Chi’shin—that’s the capital of the Earth tribe. Have you ever been there?”

“That’s where General Geun-tae lives!” Yona answered excitedly. “Should we stay with him?”

“No, that would be a bad idea.” Go knock on a general’s door? _She is the princess_ , he reminded himself. _He’s probably just a normal person to her_.

“Why?”

“Well, because when he saw you, he’d also want to get you home as soon as possible, and he wouldn’t believe that I could take you home faster than his soldiers.” And he might well accuse _him_ of kidnapping the princess, on top of everything else. No way was Jae-ha going to get involved with generals and soldiers.

“If you told him you were the green dragon he would.”

Jae-ha sighed. “Look, there’s a pretty flat road down there, let’s walk for a while, ok?”

 

He’d clearly either have to revise his travel time estimate, or do a lot more jumping and a lot less walking than originally planned. _She’s like five years old, of course she’s slow_. What had he really expected? And she grew up in a palace—this was probably the most walking she’d ever had to do in her life. “Anyway, we’re not going to tell anyone who I am, _or_ who you are, until you’re home. And I don’t want you to tell anyone that I’m the green dragon even then!”

Yona frowned. “Why is it a secret? The dragon warriors are famous heroes!”

“ _Those_ dragon warriors didn’t have their own lives to live. If the king and everyone knew I was the green dragon, they wouldn’t want to let me be a pirate anymore. And if I wasn’t a pirate, I couldn’t have rescued you or those other kids, right?”

“Oh,” said Yona. “I understand.” _She … does?_ “I guess you don’t have to be famous to be a hero.” She walked silently for a few paces, clearly turning something back and forth in her head. “You said _those_ dragon warriors. So that means you’re not _the_ green dragon, from the stories?”

“Just how old do you think I am?”

“Well I guess you’re not _old_ … but you _are_ a grown-up.”

“Heh,” said Jae-ha. “Not really. I’m fifteen.”

“I’m six,” Yona informed him. That still counted as like five years old, right?

“Did you really think I was the same dragon warrior out of the stories?”

“Well, the stories didn’t say there were other ones that came after!” The version of the legend that Yona knew was probably similar to the stories that Captain Gi-gan had been familiar with. They, of course, stopped after the death of Hiryuu. _Because he’s the important part, right?_

“That’s probably because after the first ones, the others didn’t do anything exciting.”

“Even though they could fly?”

_Because it’s more important to stay hidden than to use the power you were born with_. “Let me tell you about the place I come from,” said Jae-ha. He wouldn’t tell her everything. The princess had been imprisoned for over a week; there were things she didn’t need to think about. _Should I really be telling her_ any _of this?_ Yona was Hiryuu’s reincarnation, somehow, even if she didn’t know it, and he didn’t want to put ideas in her head. But maybe if he explained it right, then someday, she’d understand why he _couldn’t_ serve her or her father. “There’s a village that’s existed in secret, ever since the time of the first green dragon.”

"Where?"

"I just said it was a secret. But every generation, a new Ryokuryuu is born. And everyone in the village says, _stay here, because when Hiryuu is reborn, he will need your power_. But they also say, _stay hidden, because if bad men find out about your power, they'll use it for evil_. Of course they never asked what _I_ wanted to do with my power. And so, Ryokuryuu's power is never used at all."

"That's really stupid!" Yona blurted out.

"I know, right? That's why I ran away."

"Are you the first green dragon to use your power since Hiryuu?"

That ... would be a coincidence Jae-ha didn't want to think about. He shrugged. "Dunno."

"There's been a lot of kings since Hiryuu," said Yona. "Father is the tenth king, but that's just from the sky tribe, so there's been even more than that. If there were that many dragons, and if they all rescued people like you did instead of sitting around doing nothing in some stupid village, they'd have saved a whole lot of people! Your village is really stupid," she added again for emphasis.

"I'll tell them you said that," said Jae-ha. "If I ever see them again." Not that he planned to, of course. But— _Hiryuu disapproves_. Tiny, six-year-old Hiryuu. _That's pretty great_. Ugh, he had to stop thinking of her like that.

"Let's fly again," said Yona.

"Want to ride piggy-back this time?"

"Yeah!"

"All right, hold on tight!"

 

Late afternoon found them standing on a rolling hillside, overlooking the vast city below. The sun hadn’t set yet—they’d made good time. "Wow! Is it bigger than Kuuto?"

"Probably not," said Jae-ha. "But it's prettier, I think."

"It's really pretty," Yona agreed. "What are all those soldiers doing?" Looking where the princess was pointing, Jae-ha could see a whole squadron of Earth tribe soldiers who seemed to be stopping everyone who was entering and leaving the city.

"They're probably looking for you, Princess."

"Should we go see them?"

"What? No!" Maybe it was the two years he'd spent as a pirate, or maybe it was something else, but the thought of turning the princess over to anyone else, even to soldiers who obviously _would_ have her best interests at heart ... well, it wasn't going to happen. "We'll fly into the city, so they don't see us."

"Okay!" As expected, the prospect of more flying was enough to turn down that line of questioning. Just one short jump, landing in an out-of-the-way alley where no one would see them, and they were in. "It's not as pretty as it looked from outside," said Yona. The buildings here were worn-down or boarded up, and there were no trees—from above, the city had seemed to be filled with greenery—lining these streets.

"We had to land in a less pretty spot, so no one would see us," said Jae-ha. "We'll walk to somewhere better. Captain Gi-gan gave us a lot of money, so we can stay at a nice inn, and you can sleep in a real bed."

"When we get to the castle I'll get some money for you to give back to her," said Yona. _I wouldn't have expected you to think of that_ , Jae-ha thought. _But it doesn't matter. I won't be staying at the castle that long._

"When we're at the inn, we'll tell them you're my sister, ok? Can you pretend that I'm your big brother?"

"Uh-huh!"

The streets they were walking through were a little more populated now, but Jae-ha didn't really have any idea where he was going. He'd been to Chi'shin once before, before he'd joined up with Captain Gi-gan, but not for very long, and he hadn't stayed at anything like a nice inn. Those would probably be closer to the gates, right? Which were … where, exactly? Ugh, navigation was so _hard_ at ground level.

"Sorry, Yona," he apologized, when they finally arrived at an inn over an hour later. It was starting to get dark, and although she’d barely complained, he could tell how worn-out the princess was getting. He’d been carrying her for at least half the time. _Flying makes this so much easier … but it’s a bad idea, in a crowded city when all the soldiers and guards are on alert_. Fortunately, there were still plenty of rooms. "Look, this is really nice, isn't it? The bed is for you, I'll sleep on the floor." Yona glanced around skeptically. "I guess it's not as nice as the palace, huh?"

"It's good," said Yona. "As long as you're in here with me, it's good." They returned downstairs, and Jae-ha ordered rice porridge for both of them. He noticed that Yona didn't give the food the same skeptical glance she'd given the room. _We'll have to stop to eat more often tomorrow. She’s been really hungry for over a week_. He _knew_ how hungry she’d been.

"Hey, Jae-ha?"

"Yeah?"

"I thought Chi'shin was supposed to be a rich city. How come there were so many poor people?"

"That's just always how it is in cities," said Jae-ha. "We got a little lost, so it took us a little longer to find the nicer part of town. If we'd walked in through the gate, we'd have found it right away."

"No, I mean ... Father says we're not going to have any more wars, so that everyone can be happy. But I saw a lot of people who didn't look happy ..."

Jae-ha sighed. _I can't just tell a six-year-old girl that her father is a bad king_. "You can't just decide that everyone's going to be happy," he said. "People have to figure out for themselves what they need to do to be happy."

"Like when you ran away?"

"Yeah, just like that. But ... when the bad men kidnapped you, you were in a place where you couldn't just make yourself happy, right?" Yona nodded. "When you're poor, it can kind of be like that. If you don't have enough food or a good place to sleep, then the fact that the army isn't fighting a war won't help you."

"Oh ... then what should Father do instead?"

_Eh?_ "How should I know? I'm not a general!"

"Right," said Yona. "I guess I'm the princess, so I should think about it myself."

"...right," said Jae-ha. _Somehow, I don't think a six-year-old can influence national policy._

"Father says fighting is bad ... but when you and Captain Gi-gan rescued me, you had to fight the bad men. If you didn't, you couldn't have saved me. So ... oh! It's like your village, isn't it?"

"Huh?"

"Since Father is king, he has a lot of power, because he can tell the whole army what to do. And it's kind of stupid not to do anything with that power, when he could use it to save a lot of people." _I don't know what the king could do to help poor people in Chi'shin, but the army_ could _do a lot to stop human trafficking, if they wanted to._ Captain Gi-gan just had the one ship, after all, and she still didn't even know who was at the head of the operation. But with the military’s support … _oh, come on! You can't expect that much from kings. Even the well-intentioned ones mess things up._

"Ehh, I think kings are useless in general," Jae-ha said. "Before your father was king, everything was pretty much the same. That just shows that whatever they do, it doesn't make a difference."

"Well, when I get home, I'll make things better."

"What are _you_ going to do? You've never even left the palace before."

Yona frowned. "I ... is that ... is that like your village, too?"

Was it? The princess represented a lot of power, but she'd never be able to control it herself. She just had to wait until the man who'd be the next king came along and took it from her. Of course, it was more than a little different; she lived in a palace, after all. _If Garou—no, if the village elders—kept me in a palace, would I have even tried to escape?_ Of course he would have. Of course. _It’s not the same at all._ "Well, you don't really have a power like me," he reasoned. No secret strength that was calling out to be used against all odds. _I mean. She doesn't. The only power she has is because of who her father is. Take that away ..._ "The only power the princess really has is to decide who will be the next king." _Does she even have a say in that?_

"Oh, well, _that's_ okay. When I grow up I'm going to marry Soo-won."

"Listen, Yona, are you sure you want to go back to the palace? You could come back to Awa with me. Me and Captain Gi-gan can teach you to fight, and when you're a little bit bigger, you could help us fight against bad people like the ones who kidnapped you." _What am I saying? She's the princess, of course she has to go back to the palace._ Why'd she have to go and compare it to Ryokuryuu's village, anyway? It wasn't the same at all.

"I want to go home," said Yona. _Good._ Because what he'd just said was a _really terrible_ idea.

 

Two more days on—and off—the road, and they were in Kuuto. Somehow, despite all the princess’ impatience, it felt like far too short a trip. "Princess, I'm going to say goodbye now," said Jae-ha. "When I take you into the palace grounds, I'll have to leave right away."

"Jae-ha ..." There were tears in the princess' eyes.

"What, you're crying? But you're home!" _Please cheer up, I don't know if I can leave you if you're sad._

"But I'll miss you!" The truth was, Jae-ha would miss this little girl, too. _I was so scared of Hiryuu showing up, but she's_ ... she _was_ Hiryuu. That was what the dragon blood said. And someday, when she was older—but he didn’t _want_ Yona to be someone he wanted to avoid, that was the thing. He wanted to watch this little girl grow up, wanted to see what kind of person she’d become. _I still won’t take orders from her. But maybe, when she knows more about the world, I wouldn’t mind working_ with _her_. “Are you sure you can’t stay?”

“I’m sure,” said Jae-ha.

“But what if I don’t ever see you again?”

“Listen, Yona,” said Jae-ha. “I don’t know when it’ll be, and it might not be for a really long time, but I promise, we’ll see each other again. Okay?”

She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. “Okay …”

“And in return, can you promise not to tell your father that I’m the green dragon?”

“But I don’t want to forget you!”

“Well, you can tell him all about how handsome and brave I am.” She giggled. “There, see? It’ll be all right.”

Suddenly, she wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug. “I’m really glad you rescued me, Ryokuryuu Jae-ha!”

This really wasn’t fair, she wasn’t supposed to make him cry, too. “I’m glad too, Princess Yona. Now let’s fly one last time.”

 

The return journey only took Jae-ha two days, but it felt longer. And when he reached Gi-gan’s ship … _I thought this ship was going to be my home forever. Why does it just feel like another resting point on my journey, now?_

“So you did come back,” said the captain.

“Of course I came back, Captain Gi-gan!” Jae-ha protested. “No destiny could lead me astray from your side.”

“Hmph, you’re getting better at that, kid. Someday I might actually believe you.” She smiled. “The girl’s home safe?”

“Yeah.”

“Good. Well, that’s that.” And it was, right? He had his own life to live. And it was a good one, too! They sank three slavers’ ships across the next month, and Gi-gan let him do more and more each time. He wasn’t just the pirates’ weird flying mascot anymore, he was a real part of the crew. And yet … _they’re still selling people. Still taking people’s freedom away. We’ve rescued a lot of prisoners, but they’re still kidnapping just as many people in the cities and villages. We haven’t come any closer to finding who’s behind this._

 

“Hey, Captain?” Jae-ha asked one night, as the two of them stood watch together. There’d been a rumor in town that another cargo was departing for Kai, but it was a clear night and there’d been no sign of any trouble yet. “Do you think that the king’s finally going to do something about these slavers? Since his own daughter was taken?”

The captain gave him a look. “Kid, that ship she was on was our easiest catch in years. Did you stop and think about why that was?”

“I thought—”

“What, that it was because I finally let you join the boarding party? You’re pretty good, kid, but you’re not that good.”

What was Gi-gan talking about, then? Jae-ha still didn’t know the ins and outs of naval battles the way the captain did, even though he’d officially been a member of the crew for two whole years now. He thought back to that night. “They weren’t careful at all,” he said. “Their ship was fast, like they were running from something, but they didn’t even think that we might be waiting.”

“The slavers always know to watch out for pirates,” said Gi-gan. “We’ve at least done that much.” Hence the empty seas tonight. If the captain had heard a rumor about a cargo, the slavers had probably heard that the captain had heard. Or had planted it themselves.

“And their victims,” said Jae-ha, remembering. He’d been so focused on Yona at the time, without even realizing it—stupid dragon blood—but … “There weren’t very many. To be going so fast, with such a small cargo…” _Slavers don’t take risks like that,_ Jae-ha thought. _Whoever kidnapped Yona wasn’t trying to make a profit, they were—_ “It wasn’t slavers.” _Yona was the only one from Kuuto. It should have been obvious from the start._

“They wanted it to look like slavers took her,” said Gi-gan. “But this was something else. Whatever the king decides to do about it, it has nothing to do with us.”

“But that means they went after Yona specifically! What if they’re still after her?”

Gi-gan rolled her eyes. “Boy, you weren’t kidding about that dragon blood, were you?”

Jae-ha bristled. “You cared about her, too. I could tell!” Of course he wanted to protect Yona. _But I’m not going to lay down my life for my master. That’s the kind of protection the dragon blood would want. This isn’t that._ He just wanted to protect her like … like a brother would. “Her father’s a stupid king who can’t even keep his own daughter safe. He probably won’t even realize it wasn’t real slavers that took her.”

“What do you intend to do? Drop out of the sky at the palace and offer up your services as royal bodyguard? You have the credentials, after all.”

That was exactly what he was never going to do. Serving someone unconditionally would be an ugly kind of life to live … though he didn’t mind taking orders from Captain Gi-gan. _That’s different, though. If she didn’t give orders worth following, she wouldn’t be a captain for long._ “I’ll do what you’re doing with the slavers,” he said. “I’ll track down whoever was behind it, and I’ll take care of them.”

The captain sighed. “I suppose I’d be a hypocrite if I didn’t let you do whatever you could to protect one little girl. Be careful, Jae-ha. And remember—” She narrowed her eyes. “Whatever you start, you’d better make sure you’re prepared to finish it.”


	3. Interlude: Yona

“Soo-won and Hak are here!”

Two weeks ago, the green dragon had set her down in the middle of the palace courtyard and immediately flown away. Yona had run straight to her father’s chambers, and when Father saw her, he started to cry. But she hadn’t seen Soo-won and Hak until today.

“Princess, how did you convince the king to let us visit again?” Soo-won asked.

“Yeah, I thought we were going to be punished forever!”

Yona had had to think really hard about that. “Well, first I thought I could tell Father that I _told_ you to take me into the town, so it wasn’t your fault at all. But then I’d have had to lie to Father …”

Soo-won nodded. “You’re not very good at that,” he said.

“Hey! It _was_ your idea to go into town.” After she’d decided that argument wouldn’t work, she’d thought that maybe she could convince Father that Soo-won needed to be with people who cared about him, even if he _was_ in trouble. That was another thing that happened while Yona was gone—Uncle Yu-hon had died. Yona knew that she should be sad that something like that had happened, but after everything else, it just felt kind of like … a thing. But she remembered what it felt like after Mother died, and maybe Soo-won felt like that now, even if he was better at not crying. But telling father _that_ wouldn’t have done anything about Hak, and she didn’t think Soo-won would like it if she brought it up now. “So what I _actually_ told him was that of _course_ we thought the town was safe, because Father said it didn’t need so many soldiers and guards. And that he shouldn’t punish _you_ for not doing the job that _soldiers_ were supposed to do when _he_ was the one who took the soldiers away, because that just wasn’t fair.”

“You thought that up by yourself?”

“It’s not a lie, it really wasn’t fair! Anyway after that Father said that you had probably learned your lesson by now and could come back. Do you want to hear about my adventure?”

“What I want to hear is why the princess is wearing such an ugly dress,” said Hak.

“Hey, stop being so mean!” She picked up a piece of fruit off a platter and threw it at him, but he caught it like he always did. Stupid Hak. “It’s not ugly, it’s my favorite. Captain Gi-gan gave it to me.”

“Who’s that?” Soo-won asked.

“ _Well,_ if you let me tell you about my adventure, you’ll find out!”

“Fine, fine,” said Hak.

“Of course we want to hear about the princess’ adventure,” said Soo-won.

“Ok! Um …” Actually, the first part wasn’t very fun to talk about. “Bad men tied me up and put me in a boat,” she said. “But then someone else came to the boat, and he rescued me! Guess who it was.”

“This Captain Gi-gan person?” Hak asked.

“No! She comes later. It was the green dragon warrior!” She had only promised she wouldn’t tell _Father_ that Jae-ha was the green dragon, after all. Soo-won and Hak were her friends and Yona could tell them everything.

“… so who was it really?” Hak asked.

“It really was the green dragon! He carried me out of the bad ship, and he jumped up into the sky, and flew _all the way_ to his own ship! It was scary at first but it was _really cool._ ”

“Come on, Princess, the dragon warriors are just stories.” Hak looked over at Soo-won. He was so mean, why didn’t he believe her?

“If the princess says the green dragon rescued her, we should take her word,” said Soo-won. There! _He_ wasn’t mean.

“Anyway, his ship was actually Captain Gi-gan’s ship, and they fought the bad men and burned the bad ship and made it sink.”

“This was in the Earth tribe, right? So Captain Gi-gan works for General Geun-tae?”

“Uh-uh, she’s a pirate. Because soldiers don’t do anything to stop bad men like the ones who tied me up, so the pirates have to do it instead. That’s what Jae-ha said.”

Soo-won frowned. “If pirates are doing more to protect the kingdom than the army …”

“That’s why Jae-ha couldn’t stay here, even though the dragon warriors should really work for the king, right? Because he can save more people if he’s a pirate.”

“They said you appeared in the palace grounds in the middle of the day, and no one knew how you got back. Did the green dragon bring you here?”

Yona nodded. “He flew over the walls! I wish he could have stayed, he was really nice …” Jae-ha had promised that she would see him again, but that might not be for a really long time. “But it took a long time to come here, even though we flew. So I got to see a whole lot of the kingdom! I saw more of Chi’shin than I saw of Kuuto, so we need to go back into town sometime.” Now Hak and Soo-won were both staring at her.

“You’re not scared to go back?” Hak asked.

“I won’t get kidnapped this time,” she reassured them. _Jae-ha saves a lot of people, but he didn’t think I had any power at all._ Maybe if Yona learned more about the city, she could stop the bad men that were here. _I want to save people just like Jae-ha! When we see each other again, I want the green dragon to be proud of me._


	4. Chapter 3

The nice thing about big cities like Kuuto, Jae-ha thought, was that everyone was so set about their business that they never bothered to look up. Too bad for them—they were missing out on a lot of the beauty of the world—but good for him. Jae-ha had been in Kuuto for three days now, and was still in the process of scouting out the city, getting his bearings. _Where do I start?_ Anyone who would kidnap the princess specifically probably didn’t even live in the city itself. Probably some lord off in some villa. But whoever they had hired to do their dirty work …

Jae-ha was perched on the edge of a rooftop, watching a group of … well, probably some sort of criminals, anyway, though they seemed friendly. Not like human traffickers. _But maybe they know something._ His stomach let out a growl. _And that’s another thing._ Captain Gi-gan had not been nearly so generous this time around, when he didn’t have a princess to take care of. It was becoming increasingly clear that if Jae-ha was going to stay in the city, he’d have to find some sort of actual _work._

_Yona’s safe now. Hiryuu or not, I saved her already. I don’t have to be doing any of this._ He could go home, back to Gi-gan’s ship … but no. He’d decided already. What happened to Yona wouldn’t be truly over until the men who did it were caught and punished. _This isn’t about serving Hiryuu._ His first day back in Kuuto, he’d gone straight to the palace. Watched for her. She seemed absolutely fine, and it was so hard to keep himself from greeting her, even just catching her attention and waving, that he hadn’t been back since. _This isn’t about her. This is about making sure that a man who would kidnap a little girl just to get at her father gets what he deserves._ He glanced back down at the courtyard. _Wait a second …_ A young boy, with strawberry blond hair and a surprisingly sharp gaze, was staring straight back up at him.

Stepping off the roof, he landed in a crouch in front of the kid. That roof was just the right height, he figured, that a jump down from it would look pretty cool, but not impossible. But this boy seemed completely unfazed. “Hey kid, were you looking at me?”

“I just haven’t seen you around before,” the kid said, with a smile.

“What, you know everyone in this city by sight?”

He shrugged. “You’ve got a pretty distinctive look.”

_Can’t deny that._ “It’s true, I do look pretty awesome.”

“You were up there watching everyone for a while,” the boy said. “Are you looking for someone?”

_What? How long were you watching me, kid?_ And had he seen—? No, if he’d seen Jae-ha _land_ on the rooftop, no way he’d be so calm now. “Mostly I’m looking for information,” he said. “And a job. You’re right, I am new in town. I don’t suppose you can help with either of those?”

He wasn’t really expecting anything; this boy was too young to have any useful connections. But to his surprise, the boy turned back to the group of men. “Hey, Mr. Ogi!” he called out. “You need someone to deliver messages and stuff for you, right?”

“Not now, Won.”

“Hey, what’s your name?” he whispered up at Jae-ha.

“Jae-ha …”

“Come on, Mr. Ogi, Jae-ha’s pretty fast. I bet he’d be great!”

The man who had answered the boy—Mr. Ogi, presumably—sighed, and tossed a coin in the direction of the two of them. “Go get me some of those pork dumplings from the market across town. If you’re quick, we’ll see.”

Jae-ha looked back at the boy. “Uh, what just happened?”

“You’d better hurry,” the boy answered. Right. Jae-ha raced out of the courtyard, then made sure he was out of sight before jumping into the sky.

It didn’t take long at all to get across town and back. Jae-ha even thought about holding back a little, but hell, if he wanted to impress these guys with his speed, he was going to _impress_ them. He set both the bag of dumplings and his change on the table next to Ogi’s game board. “You didn’t get these from some nearby stall, did you?” The man bit into a dumpling. “Nope, these are the ones.” He slid the coins back to Jae-ha. “Stick around, kid, I might have more jobs for you.”

Jae-ha nodded, and glanced around the courtyard to find the blond kid again. “Hey, your name was Won, right?”

The boy nodded. “I don’t know what kind of information you’re looking for, but if you deliver messages for Mr. Ogi, you’ll learn a lot.”

“Hey, thanks.” This kid had a pretty good head on his shoulders. “You had no way of knowing if I was a fast runner, though.”

“You just looked like you might be,” Won said with a shrug. _Good instincts, too, I guess._

 

Three weeks later, when Ogi asked Jae-ha to go retrieve a package for him from the west district, Jae-ha leapt into the sky without a second thought. It was only when he heard the startled shouts from below that he realized what he’d done. _Ah … I didn’t mean to do that._ He’d used his powers openly all the time around Captain Gi-gan and her pirates. _Now I’ll have to leave, make sure this doesn’t get out, start over again. What a stupid mistake!_ He’d feel kinda bad about leaving Ogi and his crew, actually. They seemed like good people.

_Or I could stay._ These guys _weren’t_ Gi-gan’s pirates, but maybe … maybe they could accept him, too. Yona had, hadn’t she? He touched down on a rooftop and considered. It wasn’t like they could do anything to him if he came back to see their reaction. _I’ll get Mr. Ogi’s package for him,_ he decided, jumping away again. _Then we’ll see._

When he returned, he landed right in the middle of the courtyard, not bothering to hide anything. “All right, what the hell, Jae-ha?” Wordlessly, Jae-ha held out the box he’d retrieved. He didn’t even know what was in it— _hope it was worth it._ “Have you always been able to do that?” Jae-ha nodded, and Ogi narrowed his eyes. _Here it is,_ thought Jae-ha. _I guess this was too good to last._ But all Ogi said was, “That kid Won didn’t know, did he? Is he playing games with me again?”

“What? No, that was the first time I’d ever met him.” He could see why Ogi might wonder, though. Jae-ha had only seen Won once since their first meeting, but that kid was _definitely_  too smart for his own good.

“Hmph.” Ogi paused, looked down at his cup, then back at Jae-ha. “Go get me some _good_ sake, from the liquor store by the main market.”

“Uh …” _So … he’s not bothered by what I can do?_ “Right.” But when Jae-ha left this time, he paused to land on the outer slant of one of the nearby roofs, listening to the voices below.

“Mr. Ogi, that’s definitely not normal! You’re just going to let him get away?”

“What are you talking about, ‘let him get away?’ I just sent him to bring me some booze.” _He is letting me get away, though,_ Jae-ha realized. _He’s letting me leave without causing a scene. And … I’m not going to._

“So are you gonna tell me where a power like that comes from?” Ogi offered Jae-ha a drink when he got back, so Jae-ha figured they were good.

“Well, as a matter of fact … “ He paused for effect. “I’m the one known as the soaring green dragon,” he said with a flourish.

“Okay, you can shut up now,” said Ogi.

 

Won showed up two days later. “Hey, did you hear? Ogi’s got his own dragon warrior now! He really is the king of the town!” That was from Yae-jun, one of Ogi’s regular gambling partners.

“Hey, shut up!” Even if it was a joke, it wasn’t very funny. “I’m not anyone’s dragon warrior. I’m not anyone’s anything!”

“What are you talking about?” Won asked.

Jae-ha sighed. He’d been asked to demonstrate his power a lot over the past couple days, as members of Ogi’s crew came and went. “This,” he said, jumping up to the nearest rooftop.

“Wow!” Won, eyes wide, appeared suitably impressed. “I’m surprised you don’t keep a power like that secret,” he said, when Jae-ha leapt back down.”

“I usually do, but these guys are pretty cool,” Jae-ha said. “You, too.” Won nodded, more to himself, it seemed.

“But the dragon warriors _are_ supposed to serve the king, right?” Yae-jun pressed.

“First of all, I’m not going to serve anyone just because some legend says I have to,” said Jae-ha. “And second, that’s not even true.”

“It was only Hiryuu himself that the four dragons served, in the stories,” Won added. “They left as soon as Hiryuu died.”

“Right,” said Jae-ha.

“Where did they go?”

“… to build a prison for future generations.”

“Hm? What do you mean by that?”

He hadn’t meant to say that much. Not in front of all these people. “Nevermind. Anyway, I left as soon as I could. I wasn’t going to wait around for some reborn king who’d probably never show up anyway.”

“Hey, it’s not true that General Soo-jin is Hiryuu, is it?” another man asked.

“’Course not,” Jae-ha scoffed. “Who’s that?”

“He’s the Fire tribe’s general,” said Won. “People think he’s Hiryuu?”

“It’s just a rumor among some of his officers,” said the man. Jae-ha couldn’t remember his name, but recalled that he was a veteran of some sort. Or maybe a deserter.

“Well, I can tell you for sure, he’s not Hiryuu.” That reminded him, he ought to check on Yona again. He’d already gone back to see her a second time, but that had been two weeks ago. Jae-ha had a feeling that he’d _know_ if something really bad ever happened to her, and he hadn’t felt anything like that. _But I haven’t come any closer to finding whoever tried to kidnap her._ He had told Ogi about half of the truth—he’d said that he was part of a crew of pirates who were working against human traffickers on the Earth tribe’s coast, and that they’d sent him here to investigate this end of the operation. His initial assessment of Ogi seemed to have been correct—his crew dealt in loans, gambling, that sort of thing. Not in human lives. If Jae-ha really _was_ trying to track down a kidnapping ring, Ogi would be a powerful ally. _And, I mean, it’s not like I won’t do anything if I_ do _find them. Yona’s not the only child who needs protecting._ But the real people he was after wouldn’t be connected to the slavers. _They’d be connected to Yona. Or to her father. What I_ really _need, is allies in the palace._ “I’ve got things to do. See you!”

Jae-ha couldn’t quite say why he didn’t just let the princess know he was here. It wasn’t like it would be hard. But … _it’d be too much like I really was putting myself in her service. I have my own life to live._ Hell, she had _her_ own life to live, too, or as much of one as a girl that age could have. She didn’t need dragons showing up and complicating things.

The princess was easy to find, today. She was outside, running around with a dark-haired boy who looked a few years older than her—probably about Won’s age. Energetic and playful, there was no sign of the trauma she’d been through two months ago. _Good._ He watched them a little more. They were both holding wooden swords. _That boy looks like he actually knows how to use it, too._ “Come on, Hak, it’s not fair! If you make fun of me for holding it wrong, you have to show me the right way!”

“Princess, you know your father doesn’t want you to use weapons at all. I can’t teach you to fight.”

_Well, that’s no good._ What was Yona supposed to do if something happened to her again? _Then again, she’s like five years old. Six._

“I bet Soo-won would teach me!”

“Well, Soo-won isn’t here today, is he?” The boy stuck his tongue out at Yona, who immediately began waving her sword at him again. Jae-ha chuckled. _She really doesn’t have any idea how to hold the thing. It’s pretty cute._

He leapt away. _She’s fine._ The princess didn’t need him there. _I said I wasn’t going to be her bodyguard. So this is the last time._

 

That plan fell apart the very next day. Something had felt slightly off ever since morning. Jae-ha pushed the feeling aside—leftover anxiety after telling people about his powers, probably. Nothing to worry about. The town was the same as it always was, and when he pushed at the feeling, it didn’t feel like anything _dangerous_. _I just need to distract myself. Maybe Sun-hwa will be at the market today …_ The street performer had started teaching Jae-ha how to play her erhu after he’d told her he didn’t know which was more beautiful, the music or the musician. Which was … not _exactly_ the result he’d been hoping for, but a good second best. She was there, but had already attracted a decent-sized crowd, so Jae-ha didn’t interrupt, just gave her a quick smile and a wave as he walked past. The market was lively today, and … _wait. That feeling …_ He turned. There, across the plaza—red hair. _What’s she doing outside the palace?_ He leapt up to get a better view. _That’s Yona, and that’s the boy from the palace._ At least she wasn’t dressed too ostentatiously. In fact—he smiled. She was wearing the dress Gi-gan had given her. But her hair— _jeez! Anyone who’s looking for her could spot her in an instant!_ The two children were standing in front of a group of players, Yona listening to the story they told with rapt attention, the boy looking considerably less enthusiastic. He touched down in a soft landing behind them, then waited for a break in the performance. “Princess.”

She turned. Eyes widened. “Jae-ha!” And … he was not prepared for that hug.

The boy, who had been on guard from the moment Jae-ha had spoken, relaxed. “ _This_ is the green dragon?”

What had the kid been expecting? _Wait._ “Princess, you told him about me?”

Yona pulled away. “We-ell, you only said I couldn’t tell Father,” she said. “But you came back! So it’s ok anyway! Are you going to come to the palace?”

“Ah, no,” said Jae-ha. “But I live in the city now. Why aren’t you in the palace?”

The princess pouted. “Are you gonna tell me it’s not safe and take me back?” _It isn't safe, and I_ should _take her back._ “Because I can’t do anything if I stay in the palace all day!”

_Is that like your village, too?_ Jae-ha remembered her question from before. She didn’t know what his village had truly been like, but still … “’Course not,” he said. “If you stayed in the palace all the time, I wouldn’t be able to see you.”

“Anyway, it _is_ safe, because Hak and Soo-won can protect me. This is my friend Hak,” she said, indicating the dark-haired boy. “Soo-won’s also my friend, and he's my cousin too. He went to go buy some candy for me, so he’ll come back soon.”

“You tell him I was the green dragon, too?” Yona nodded. _The name sounds familiar. Oh, right!_ He grinned. “He’s the one you said you were going to marry, right?”

Hak burst out laughing. Yona’s face turned the same color as her hair. “You—you weren’t s’posed to say that,” she muttered.

“Well, you weren’t supposed to tell anyone about me. Fair’s fair.” He stuck out his tongue.

“Princess, are you _sure_ this is the green dragon?”

“He is! Show Hak how you can fly, Jae-ha.”

“Not here, there’s too many people.” He’d just _landed_ in the middle of this crowd a moment ago, but nevermind that.

“Well, we shouldn’t leave until Soo-won comes back,” said Hak.

“He’s been gone a long time …” Yona furrowed her brow. “I wonder what’s taking him so long?”

Great, did he have two royal kids to watch over, now? “What’s he look like?”

“Well, he’s as tall as Hak, and he’s got blond hair that’s about so long, and he’s wearing a blue kimono.” _Wait a minute. Wait just a minute!_ “Oh, there he is. Soo-won! Hey, Soo-won! Look who’s here!” Jae-ha followed Yona’s gaze across the plaza and … yeah. Yeah, that was Won. The princess’ _cousin?_ _And she told him about me! Good instincts, my ass!_ What kind of games was that kid playing?

“Hey, Jae-ha.” Won—or Soo-won—greeted Jae-ha casually, like he’d done absolutely nothing wrong. “Here, Yona, these are for you.”

“Wait,” said Yona. “You mean you know him already?”

“Oh, sure, I met ‘Won’ a bunch of times,” said Jae-ha, shooting a glare at the kid. “It’s funny, he never mentioned he was your cousin.”

“You’re not upset about that, are you?” Soo-won asked, eyes wide. “I thought you’d understand, since you hide who you are all the time, too. If I told everyone who I was, I’d have a lot less freedom.” True, but it wasn’t— _dammit, I can’t even be mad though, he’s got a point._

“You mean you met Jae-ha a bunch of times and you _didn’t even tell me?_ ” The princess’ hands balled into tiny fists. _Well, at least_ someone _can be mad at him._

“Look, kids, let’s go somewhere a little less crowded.”

 

Yona’s expression grew more and more troubled as they made their way to a quiet corner of the marketplace. Finally, Jae-ha couldn’t stand it anymore. “What’s wrong, Princess?”

“I—I wanted to be stronger when I saw you again! I wanted to learn more about the world so I could do something to make it better! But … this is the first time I’ve been out of the palace since you brought me home. I haven’t been able to do anything yet.”

She was worried about that? “Princess, after what happened to you, the fact that you even _wanted_ to come into town again means you’re pretty strong already.”

“You—you think so?” Jae-ha nodded. So did Hak and Soo-won.

“Jae-ha knows a lot of people in the city now, too,” said Soo-won. “We can all help you learn a lot.” _Take the princess to meet Ogi and those guys?_ Was he serious? Ugh, he probably was. Still, the princess should know about people like that eventually. Why not now?

“You should be a bit more careful, though,” said Jae-ha. “Cover your hair, next time. It really stands out!”

“Anyone who’d want to take her wouldn’t care what she looked like, though, right?” Hak asked.

Jae-ha sighed. He hadn’t wanted to tell the princess this, but if she was going to keep coming into the city—and he really couldn’t fault her for wanting to—she’d be safer if she knew. If her friends knew. “Princess, I didn’t know this before, but … the people who took you, they weren’t just taking children at random. They kidnapped you specifically.” Hak and Soo-won’s expressions darkened. “They tried to make it look like slave traders, so that when you disappeared, everyone would think it was an accident. But it wasn’t.”

“You know this for sure?” Soo-won asked.

“Captain Gi-gan thinks so, too,” said Jae-ha. “She’s been fighting against slavers for a lot longer than I have, so she’d know.”

Yona had gone pale. “They … wanted to take me like they took Mother? To hurt Father?”

“I don’t know,” said Jae-ha. _What happened to her mother?_ “That’s why I came to the capital. To find out who was really behind it. The king never takes any action, so—”

Soo-won’s expression faltered for a moment. Maybe he’d gone too far. _The king_ is _Yona’s father. He’d take action if her life was at stake, wouldn’t he?_ “Right,” Soo-won said. “No. King Il hates violence.”

“Princess, we won’t let anything happen to you,” said Hak, firmly. “You know that, right?”

“And we’ll find out who did this,” said Soo-won.

_Neither one of them can be any older than ten,_ thought Jae-ha. _But Hak is strong. He_ can _protect the princess. And Soo-won … knows exactly what he’s doing._

“Um,” said the princess, “It was me who they took, before. So I want to fight back against the bad men, too.” Hak looked like he was going to protest, but stopped at a glance from Soo-won. _We can do this,_ thought Jae-ha. Just a few days ago, it had felt like he was at a dead end. But now— _I think we can really do this._


	5. Chapter 4

“I did it! Look, Jae-ha, I did it!” One of the kunai that Jae-ha had lent her to practice with had finally found its mark.

“Good job, Rina!” Yona had insisted that if Soo-won got to use a pretend name in town, she needed one, too. Personally, Jae-ha was of the opinion that as long as no one called her “princess,” it would be fine, but Yona thought that using a false name was exciting. Today the children were gathered in the courtyard where Ogi and his men spent their free time, and Jae-ha figured that was as good a place as any to start teaching the princess how to fight.

“Yo—” The princess glared at Hak. “I mean, Rina, I really don’t think this is a good idea. Your father doesn’t want you to handle weapons.”

“It’s fine!” Yona insisted. “These are what Captain Gi-gan uses, Jae-ha said, so it’s fine for a lady to use them.”

“And they’re something even a young girl can learn,” Jae-ha added. “She doesn’t need a lot of strength, she just needs to be able to throw.”

“I want to learn to use a sword, too, though,” said Yona. “Teach me that next!”

“Ah, sorry,” said Jae-ha. “I don’t really know how to use one.”

“Oh. Won, you’ll teach me to use a sword, right?”

“I don’t think I should.” Jae-ha hadn’t been expecting that. In all of the children’s visits to the city—and there had been several, across the past few months—Soo-won had always done the most to encourage Yona to learn new things. “I’ll teach you to use a bow someday. That doesn’t have to be a weapon all the time, since people use it for hunting, see? But a sword is only meant for killing people.”

Hak frowned. “I don’t think her father would buy that logic.”

“It’s not for her father,” said Soo-won. “It’s for her.” Hak nodded. Jae-ha could see Soo-won’s point, too. Yona wasn’t learning to fight to take down enemy soldiers on the battlefield.

“You don’t need to fight at all,” Hak insisted. “We’ll be there to protect you.”

“Hak,” said Soo-won. “We weren’t.”

 _That’s cold._ “Hey, Hak,” said Jae-ha. “Come over here. I want to talk to you.”

“ _I’m_ the one who should be getting stronger,” Hak insisted. “So that I don’t fail her again.”

“Sure,” said Jae-ha. “And you have been. You’ve been training a lot, right?”

“Right! So Yona doesn’t need to rely on herself.”

“It’s … it’s not really about relying on herself. And it’s _not_ because she doesn’t think she can rely on you. She’s a little girl. _You’re_ still a kid, but if it came down to it, you could probably take out a lot of grown men. So can I, now. Yona just can’t, that’s a fact. She’ll always need people like you and me to protect her.”

“So—”

“Do you believe that she really does want to protect the people of the kingdom?”

“Of course! It’s just, fighting isn’t how a princess does that.”

“No,” Jae-ha agreed. “But it’s hard to protect other people when you feel helpless yourself.” _When you can’t do anything except fly away._ “Look,” he went on. “You don’t have to train her, if you don’t want. But if learning to fight makes her feel stronger, then it’ll help her _be_ stronger. And _that_ strength won’t have anything to do with fighting, so actually, you don’t have to think of this as breaking any rules at all!”

“That part at the very end was a stretch,” said Hak, flatly. “But the rest …” He nodded. “All right.”

“I did it again!” Yona’s voice rang out across the courtyard, and Jae-ha looked over to see another kunai planted in the wooden post.

“Good job!” Hak called back, and Yona’s eyes lit up.

 

“Hey, let’s go the market,” Yona said, after she’d practiced a little longer and hit her target one more time.

“Maybe Jae-ha’s _girlfriend_ will be there,” Hak teased.

“Kid, in just a couple more years, you’ll realize that spending time with a beautiful woman is nothing to be ashamed of.”

“What are you talking about?” Yona asked. Hak glared at Jae-ha.

“… nevermind. Let’s go.”

As they made their way through the narrow streets toward the market, Yona, who was holding Hak’s hand, stopped in her tracks. “What’s wrong?” Hak asked, anxiously.

“Look at that, it’s so pretty!” She was pointing at the window of a run-down shop, one of the few along this street that was still in business.

“It’s not as nice as your other dresses,” said Soo-won.

“No, but it’s _pretty_.” The dress on display in the window was made of fine linen, not silk, and embroidered in a style Jae-ha had only seen in the far reaches of the Water tribe. He could see why it had caught the princess’ attention—it was different from any of the current fashions here in the capital. _Which is probably why this shop’s doing so poorly._ “Can we buy it?” Yona asked, looking to Soo-won.

Soo-won paused. “You like it that much?”

“Yeah!”

“I don’t think we should buy it right now,” Soo-won began.

“But you said that a lot of stores in this neighborhood were going to close! If we don’t buy it now then I might not be able to buy it ever!”

“Do you know why the stores are closing?”

“Um … because they don’t make enough money? So I should definitely buy it—”

“What you should do,” Soo-won said, “is wait till you’re back at the palace, and then have your servants buy it for you. That way, the people in the store will be able to say that the princess bought a dress from them. And then I bet a lot of other people would buy from them too.”

“…really?” Soo-won nodded. “That’s—all right! I’ll do that!”

 _She has this idea that helping people should be a personal thing. It makes sense. It’s easier to see. If she got that from me_ … that was pretty nice, actually. _But Hak’s right, that’s not how a princess protects her kingdom._ Whereas Jae-ha … _I never signed up for any sort of politics!_ But the longer he stayed, the more involved he was going to get. _Ugh, the legends tricked me! I thought I had to watch out for Hiryuu, but Hiryuu’s fine! They should’ve warned me about Hiryuu’s cousin!_

“What about the other stores?” Yona went on. “How can we help them?”

“Hmm,” said Soo-won. “I don’t know. I’ll think about it!” And that was the scary part, he _would,_ and the next time the children came into town, he’d have a solution.

 _I need to get away while I still can._ It was becoming harder and harder to pretend that his continued presence in the city had anything to do with tracking down Yona’s kidnappers. That trail had gone dead. What’s more, it had gone so dead that Jae-ha couldn’t honestly believe that Yona was in any real danger— _so what am I doing here?_ Yes, he’d regret leaving without solving the mystery, but Gi-gan was fighting against kidnappers and slave traders every day. If he couldn’t catch one set, he could catch another. _Gi-gan also told me to finish what I started. But she didn’t know how much this stupid dragon blood was going to conspire to keep me here!_ Or … maybe she did. Maybe her warning wasn’t about his mission at all. _Finish what I start. I can’t serve Hiryuu halfway. If I stay, I’m … I’m her dragon warrior. And … I can’t. I’m sorry, Yona. I like you a lot. I never expected Hiryuu to be so precious to me. But—I can’t live that life._

_I’m sorry, Yona, I’m going to leave._

 

But not just yet. He could enjoy one last afternoon in the market with Yona and her friends before he said goodbye. Sun-hwa wasn’t there today, which was probably just as well, as that was a goodbye he wanted to make without the children watching. Her usual spot had been filled by a yellow-haired juggler—clearly a beginner, as he faltered and dropped a ball when Yona’s group stopped in front of him to watch. Jae-ha tossed him a coin anyway. It was strange; Jae-ha could swear he’d never seen the guy before, but he seemed familiar, somehow.

They walked on, occasionally stopping by various vendors or performers, laughing, joking. _I’ll miss these kids, I really will._ And then—Yona froze again.

“What is it?” Hak asked. “Did you see something else you wanted to look at?” _No, something’s wrong._ Yona was trembling.

“That—that man over there. He’s the one who took me.”

Hak and Soo-won’s eyes narrowed; Jae-ha followed Yona’s eyes to see who she was looking at. “You’re sure?” Soo-won asked. Yona nodded.

“She’s sure,” Jae-ha repeated, seeing Yona’s expression. Feeling how frightened she was.

“Take Yona home,” said Hak. Yes, that would be best.

“All right, _watch_ him.” Both boys nodded firmly. Jae-ha took Yona’s hand from Hak. Lifted her into his arms. Walked slowly, discreetly, away from the crowd of the market, then jumped. Yona didn’t say a word till they reached the palace.

“I—I wanted to help catch him,” she said. “But I was too scared.” She’d been crying.

“You _did_ help catch him, okay? No one else would have recognized him.”

“I …”

“You’re back at the palace. Now, I have to go help Hak and Soo-won catch the bad man, but you’re safe here. Okay?”

“I … I know it’s safe, it’s just—”

“… yeah. I’ll come back.” He set her down, patted her on the head, and leapt away again. _I hope she has someone there she can go to._ Leaving her alone, afraid like that— _I can’t let that distract me. This is what I came to this city to do._ Now, to find Hak and Soo-won again. If the man had left the market, and they had trailed him, that could be awkward … but no, they were all still there.

“Yona’s safe?” Hak asked.

Jae-ha nodded. “We can’t take this guy in the middle of a crowded market, though.”

“No,” Soo-won agreed. “We’ll go somewhere else. Follow me, don’t take him till I signal.”

“What are—” But Soo-won had already left, approaching the kidnapper. He said a few words that Jae-ha couldn’t hear, then began walking out of the market with the man. “Has he always been able to get people to follow him like that?” Jae-ha muttered to Hak.

“He’s really amazing!” Hak replied.

“You follow from behind, I’ll follow from above and take him from the other side.”

“Right.”

Jae-ha jumped up, leaping quietly from rooftop to rooftop as Soo-won led the man from the market, through narrow streets, and finally to an empty alleyway. It finally seemed to dawn on the kidnapper that this was a little bit strange. “Hey, kid, what is this? Who are you working for?” _And that’s as good a signal as any._ The man had a knife. Jae-ha was faster. He kicked it out of his hand just as Hak knocked the man’s feet out from under him. The man braced himself, broke his fall, and Jae-ha hit him with another kick straight in the center of his chest. He went flying, hitting the stone wall behind him, and Hak quickly pulled out a coil of rope from inside his shirt. “You had rope?” Jae-ha asked.

“He bought it while you took Rina home,” said Soo-won. _Right. Until we know how much this man knows, she’s Rina._

The man was still dazed, and Hak began to tie him up. “Let me,” said Jae-ha. “I’ve done this before. Pirate, remember?” When he was secured, Jae-ha stepped back, and the three of them looked over their prisoner. The man was beginning to come to his senses.

“Hey, what—you’re just a bunch of kids!”

Hak glared, and the man shut up. Kids or not, he’d been pretty thoroughly defeated. “Six months ago, you kidnapped a red-haired girl,” Hak said.

“ _That’s_ what you’re—what’s it matter now? She’s back at the palace!”

Soo-won’s eyes widened. “It was the princess?” he asked, seemingly astounded. “So _that’s_ why …”

“Why what?” the man asked. “Why _what?_ ” he repeated, more agitated, when Soo-won didn’t answer. “I didn’t know who she was! He just said a red-haired girl!”

“ _Who_ said?” Jae-ha decided that he would _not_ like to be on the receiving end of one of Hak’s glares.

The man shuddered, but then shook his head. “I’m not telling anything to a bunch of kids,” he said. “What are you gonna do?” They’d already tied him up, but Jae-ha knew that wasn’t what the man meant.

“That’s true …” said Soo-won. He frowned. “Maybe we should go get Mr. Ogi.” Jae-ha blinked. Ogi had nothing to do with this, and getting him involved was probably not … then his brain caught up. Ogi was well-known throughout Kuuto’s underworld for drawing the line—an especially firm one—when it came to anything that would hurt a child.

“I dunno,” said Jae-ha. “He’ll be pretty grumpy if we bothered him now.” He tried to look concerned, but it was hard keeping a grin off his face.

“Look, I don’t know his name!” said the man. “I don’t have anything to do with him! He just paid me for one job, that’s all!”

“That’s all right,” said Soo-won. “Just describe him. That’s all we want from you.”

“Right,” said the man. “Right. I can … he was tall, thin, close-cropped light hair …” He continued rattling off a description, and for just a second, Soo-won’s face darkened. But then, just as suddenly, his expression was back to the one he’d worn before.

“Good!” he said. “That’s all we needed.”

“What do we do with him now?” Hak asked.

“But—you said that was all you wanted …”

“Don’t be an idiot,” said Hak. “You kidnapped the princess. We’re not letting you go.”

“You—you can’t just drag me through the city streets,” the man protested.

“No,” said Jae-ha. “That would be awkward.” He turned to Soo-won. “You’ve got what you needed?” Soo-won nodded, and Jae-ha knocked the kidnapper out with a kick to the side of the head.

“So,” said Jae-ha, in the silence that fell. “I can carry him to the palace guard, or wherever you think is best …” He paused. “The man he described. You know who that is.”

Soo-won nodded. “He worked for my father.” He narrowed his eyes. “Or I thought he did.”

“So you can find him,” said Hak.

“He’s still the steward at my father’s estate. Though if he hears the kidnapper was caught, he might—”

“News can only travel so fast,” said Jae-ha. “I can travel faster.”

“I need to be the one to talk to him,” said Soo-won. “Eun-jae is … he’ll talk to me.”

“Right,” said Jae-ha. “I mean I can take you there.” Soo-won nodded. “All right, if you two can meet me outside the palace gates, then Hak, you can, uh, explain this guy, and Soo-won and I can go and—” _Finish this,_ was what he wanted to say. _Is that what we’re going to do?_ “And find the next guy,” he said. “And you should go to Yona,” Jae-ha added, to Hak. “She was—” Hak nodded.

Jae-ha slung the kidnapper over his shoulder—he was a big man, a lot heavier than Jae-ha himself, but for such a short distance he could manage. He kept to the rooftops until he saw the two boys approach on foot, then landed, dumping the unconscious kidnapper unceremoniously to the ground. He looked at Soo-won. “You want to do this now?” The boy nodded, firmly. “Then show me where to go.”

 

The sun had set by the time they reached Soo-won’s father’s estate—or, Jae-ha supposed, Soo-won’s estate, now. Soo-won had been quiet for the entire trip, even though this was the first time Jae-ha had carried him while flying. Normally, he’d expect the boy to be full of questions. But today— _of course he’s preoccupied. Someone he thought was close to his family betrayed him._

“I want to talk to him alone,” said Soo-won. _Makes sense. He’ll be less likely to talk in front of a stranger._ “But come with me for now. It’ll look strange if I show up all by myself, after all.” They were greeted by— _and that’s Eun-jae. That’s the man who paid money to have Yona kidnapped, tortured, sold_ —he tensed, and Soo-won reached for his hand. _He might have been distracted earlier, but he’s in control now._ How could a nine-year-old be so calm when—? But Jae-ha had to be calm, too. Just like the man who’d done the actual kidnapping, this man wasn’t the real culprit. _At least I got to hurt him, though._

“Lord Soo-won, I didn’t expect you back today,” said Eun-jae.

“I was worried about Mother.”

“Your lady mother is well.” Soo-won nodded.

“Can you arrange a meal for my friend?” Soo-won asked. “It’s been a long day.” The steward nodded, and motioned for another servant, who came to lead Jae-ha away. _I don’t like this. How much can he really get this guy to tell him? And am I just going to wait calmly till he comes back to get me?_ Like he was just a servant, too. _Calm down,_ Jae-ha told himself. He’d seen how good Soo-won was at getting information from people, he’d seen it many times. And whatever else was going on inside the kid’s head, Jae-ha knew that his concern for Yona was real. _He’ll get what we need._ Jae-ha didn’t know why he was even so nervous, but he found he wasn’t eating any of the food he’d been brought. _I brought him here like I really_ was _a loyal dragon warrior, and he’s doing_ politics _, and_ —

 _And after this I’m going to leave._ Of course. He’d already decided that, right? When he hadn’t thought they had any chance of solving this. How come now, when they were so close, it was harder to step away? _Because finding the guy doesn’t mean it’s over. That’s not the kind of world the princess lives in._ That wasn’t the kind of world Hiryuu would ever live in, and Jae-ha had known it all along. _And look, her cousin is only nine years old, and he already knows how to take care of her in this world better than I ever will._ And that, all of that—it should make him feel better about leaving. Not worse.

When Soo-won came back for him, he still hadn’t eaten anything, but all Soo-won said was “let’s go.”

 

He waited till they were halfway back to ask. “So you found out who—?”

“He worked for my father,” Soo-won replied.

Jae-ha paused. “Right,” he said. “This isn’t my business anymore. You don’t have to …”

“He worked for my father,” Soo-won repeated. Then, quieter. “Don’t tell Yona.”

Oh.

 

It was dark when they returned. Late. “I’m surprised you told me,” Jae-ha said, as if there’d been no gap in the conversation.”

“Well,” said Soo-won. “You’re leaving, aren’t you?”

“I’m that obvious, huh?”

Soo-won shrugged. Nodded. “You shouldn’t leave without telling Yona goodbye,” he said. “I’ll bring her to the palace training grounds tomorrow morning. No one else will be around.”

Jae-ha nodded. “What—” _What are you going to do about your father’s steward?_ he wanted to ask. But—Lord Yu-hon was dead. Some sort of hunting accident, before Jae-ha had even come to the city. Whether or not that counted as justice being served, it was pretty final. There was nothing they could gain by going any further.

 

Yona was already crying, when he met her the next day. “Soo-won—Soo-won said you’re going away,” she sniffed.

“I am,” Jae-ha said, pulling her towards him into a hug. “Because we caught the bad man. That’s what I came here to do, remember?”

“I know … and now you have to go and help Captain Gi-gan catch other bad men.”

“That’s right,” said Jae-ha.

“I just thought … I thought I figured it out. I thought it was only because of Hiryuu, that you didn’t want to come to the palace, and maybe if it was just me …”

 _She still doesn’t even know. Of course she doesn’t._ “It’s not goodbye forever,” said Jae-ha. “It’ll be longer this time, but I promise, I’ll see you again.”

Yona wiped her eyes and nodded. _Last time, I thought I was leaving her somewhere safe. Now I’ve seen what her world can really be like. That’s why it’s harder now._ But … _this would be a prison for me, but it_ is _her world._ Her world, and though she was just a weak girl now, he knew she could be strong. Would be strong.

 _When I see her again, will I stay? Will I be her dragon warrior then?_ He gave the princess one last embrace, then leapt into the sky.

_Who knows?_


	6. Epilogue: Soo-won

Soo-won’s world fell apart twice in one week. Yona disappeared. He was the one who decided to take her into town, and he was the one who couldn’t find her when she went missing. The king was too kind. He said he wouldn’t blame Soo-won, or Hak. That it wasn’t their fault. But Soo-won knew better.

At least the king looked for her. He didn’t use the army for anything these days—Father complained about that a lot—but the whole army was looking for the princess. Except they didn’t find her. It had been almost a week, and no one would tell him anything, except that they all started to talk like Yona was dead. _Yona—Yona can’t be dead._

Then the king came to speak to Father in person. _There’s news. They won’t tell me anything, so I’ll just have to listen._ Soo-won listened to Father’s meetings all the time, even though he wasn’t supposed to. He learned a lot that way. _Maybe the army found Yona. Maybe the king came to tell Father that. Maybe if I listen, I’ll find out if Yona is alive._

That wasn’t what happened.

_But the king couldn’t_ —but the king had. _It was a nightmare._ It wasn’t. _It was an accident, like the king said._ No. He wasn’t mistaken. He’d been there. _Father—Father can’t be dead._ But he was, and nothing could change that fact.

Less than a week later, Yona was back, safe, as if nothing had happened at all. Soo-won caught himself praying that the same would happen with Father. And then, a week after that, when the king still wouldn’t let Soo-won even see the princess, he caught himself thinking how unfair it was, that a murderer like the king could find his daughter again, when Soo-won would never have his father back. Which was wrong, because Yona had nothing to do with what her father had done, and anyway, it was foolish to expect any sort of fairness from the world. If he wanted justice, he’d have to make it happen himself. He was happy when he finally got to see Yona again, he really was. _I don’t want anything to change between us._ Except— _Yona_ had changed, and Soo-won realized— _King Il didn’t find his daughter. Yona found herself._

 

The princess’ stories about the green dragon were troublesome. If there were really gods up in heaven, gods who cared enough about the kingdom to do what the stories said they did, then why would they let—? And hadn’t it even been the priest’s idea that Il should be king, and not Father? No, if there were gods, they didn’t care about the kingdom. _Even in the stories, they only cared about Hiryuu. Didn’t the other dragon gods want to destroy all the humans?_ Soo-won knew he shouldn’t take the word of a fairy tale—one that Father hadn’t even wanted him to read in the first place—but if there really were warriors serving the four dragons, that could be bad.

When he actually met the green dragon, he was relieved. The green-haired teenager wasn’t what he’d have expected of one of the four dragon warriors. _He’s pretty cool, actually._ And it seemed that Jae-ha, too, had a pretty low opinion of the will of the gods. _He says he doesn’t want to serve anyone, but really, he just doesn’t want his freedom taken away._ That didn’t mean he couldn’t be loyal, or a worthy ally. After all, he’d given up a lot to come watch over Yona. _She inspires an awful lot of loyalty … where does that come from?_ It was strange. Yona had always been precious to him—warm, bright, a treasured playmate—but never an ally or confidant, never someone he could rely on the way he relied on Hak. It was only to be expected; not only was she three years younger, but she was too sheltered, as of course the princess had to be. _But when she was kidnapped, something changed._ She was still powerless, even compared to him, but she wanted to become stronger. _I want to help her become stronger. And I don’t know if I can, because someday, I’ll have to …_

And there it was. Did he want to see Yona grow up into someone who fought for the same things he fought for? Someone who cared just as much about protecting the people of their kingdom? Or did he want to push her away, and keep her safe from the pain he knew he would someday cause?

 

The third time his world fell apart, he should have been more ready. He’d had practice, after all. _Father wouldn’t … why would Father want to hurt Yona?_ And then the pieces all came together. _Why did Father drive the priest from the castle? Why did he ban the telling of the legend of Hiryuu? His younger brother had a red-haired heir …_ Father believed that Yona was Hiryuu? Or he thought that people might think she was … and that that was a bad thing? It could certainly mean a lot of power, to convince the kingdom of something like that. So why get rid of that power? Yu-hon had always wanted to strengthen the kingdom. _No. Stop. Don’t think about his reasons—this isn’t a game! Do I believe that Father did that to Yona?_

Yes.

_(Did Il know that, the night he killed Father?)_

~~_(Do I want to know the answer to that question?)_ ~~

 

And then, the last piece. No—the first piece of a new puzzle. _Jae-ha thinks she’s Hiryuu, too._ Even though he said he’d have nothing to do with the resurrected king of legend, he was still that loyal, that protective— _he does think it’s her, I”m sure of it._ And that was why he’d forced himself to leave, when he clearly wanted to stay by Yona’s side. _The green dragon believes it … and Father either believed it, or thought that other people would. Do I?_ Soo-won wasn’t sure he even believed that Hiryuu existed at all. _And I don’t believe that the heavens should have a say in what happens on earth._ But, Hiryuu or not, if _Yona_ had a say in the fate of the kingdom … _we want the same thing._ And if there were other dragon warriors out there, and _they_ believed she was Hiryuu … _Yona is going to be very strong, one day._

_I definitely need to keep her by my side._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! We hope you stay tuned for the sequel, which will pick up ten years later. History may take a different course, but there will still be lots of adventure & intrigue! (and all four dragons)

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! We're [fallenwithstyle](http://fallenwithstyle.tumblr.com) and [hanyounomiko](http://hanyounomiko.tumblr.com) on tumblr if you'd like to come say hi.


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